Based on recommendations in a popular guidebook, I took a group of my students to Champañeria Gala two weeks ago on a Wednesday evening and was disappointed with every aspect of the experience. The service was awful even by Southern California standards (where true service has been dead a long time) and the paella was a disgrace: poorly cooked (someone should tell the chef about the socorrat) and practically unadorned. I felt obliged to speak to one of the staff about the problems with the service and I received half-hearted apologies but no explanations. The final straw was when the waiter appeared with a bottle of that awful lemon liqueur announcing that he was giving us a free pour "so that we would not leave with a bad impression." Gala may have been a find at some point in the past but it is not anymore. There are so many wonderful places to eat in Madrid that there is no reason to take a chance on a place like this.